Am I doing right?
Posted by Worldly-Ebb-7891@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 10 comments
First of all, I've been a victim of full vibe coding for over 1 year, so I want to restart my skills on programming (currently python) without AI. Right now, the way I am doing is that I do youtube tutorials, follow their instructions and write code. After that, I implement more code from other tutorials. I am doing a password manager right now. The tutorial video is simple, basic encryption and decryption included. After watching that full video, I thought of adding database (postgresql) and i watched a (postgresql python basic) video and implemented to my password manager code. After that, I thought of adding master keys, and basic security implementations such as rate limitations (that I watched some basic from different youtube video) and implemented to my password manager. The main purpose of this post is that I am afraid if I am doing wrong. I've followed many wrong paths (other life events) without instructions which cost me more than 2 years for nothing. So I am asking for validation or guidance here. I am really thankful for your time! (sorry for bad English, not my native language =)
ImprovementLoose9423@reddit
I would say you are on the right track but you can still do better. Try out an actual course or website. Freecodecamp's youtube channel or website helped me a lot in the past.
aanzeijar@reddit
I'll be honest: I don't think what you're doing is much better than vibe coding. You just swapped from one external source of knowledge to another. On top of that you're churning through a lot of non-trivial concepts very quickly. Too quickly for any systemic understanding to form.
If you have a full year of vibe coding source code - do you understand any of that code? Could you make changes in that code without looking up a youtube tutorial?
(Also, what is "basic encryption"?)
Worldly-Ebb-7891@reddit (OP)
I've learnt those programming in the past like 3 years, including databases, API, django and stuff. After that I stopped coding. After stopping, I started do some project but via vibe coding. I do have understanding on the topics I've been working. Yes, I understand the code that AI generate, if I get confused, I do debug, and I usually can modify AI code myself if small changes are needed. I can make changes in the code but I usually need a Youtube video or documentation or answer from stackoverflow since I can't really remember syntax. And when I try to start write code myself after vibe coding, I usually stuck with what to write first T_T
grantrules@reddit
Anybody can understand code, people get too confident because they can read the code AI gives them. But if you can't write it, then what do you actually know
Worldly-Ebb-7891@reddit (OP)
yeah, that is the main problem I was facing. I just "understand", I can't write my own anymore. I've been working on it (without using AI to write my code) and wondering if I am doing right.
grantrules@reddit
Does it seem like you're doing it right if you can't write code?
If you're working with databases and APIs but you can't write your own code, you went way too advanced without practicing the basics. Start with simple stuff. Unfortunately, it's not very exciting to build that stuff, so you need to have patience and drive.
Like remember learning math in school, you don't just zoom ahead to calculus.. you start learning addition/subtraction, do tons of homework.. now you add multiplication and do homework with addition and multiplication.. now add fractions and negatives numbers.. now add algebra.
You need to build your knowledge up. You need to cement the principles you're learning with practice and repetition.
You're saying "I want to learn how to bake" but all you've really done is had someone else hand you unfrosted cupcakes and a bag of frosting and you've just squirted frosting on the cupcakes.. so sure you have finished cupcakes but still no idea how to bake. So now you sit there with a bunch of eggs, flour, sugar but have no idea what to do with them.
nicodeemus7@reddit
Is OP supposed to just use his God-given knowledge of Python to learn? Wtf is this even supposed to mean? EVERYTHING is learned from external sources. The only person who didn't learn Python from an external source is the person who invented it. And even they used external sources.
aanzeijar@reddit
Yeah, but there's a difference between learning form external sources and copying down from one youtube tutorial to the next.
Terrible_Mix5187@reddit
Freecodecamp … gives you actual problems to work on and you don’t need to use ai as a crutch.
BeginningOne8195@reddit
You’re actually doing something really good here that a lot of beginners never transition into: using tutorials as a starting point instead of the final product.